Posted on Thursday, 11.15.12
BY SCOTT RILEY, SPORTS NETWORK
THE SPORTS NETWORK
Have you noticed anyone missing from the Top 10 over the last year and a half?

In case you haven't, then I'll have to refresh your memory.

Swedish star Robin Soderling hasn't competed on the ATP World Tour since July of last year. That's 16 months already and the 2013 season doesn't start for another two months (give or take).

The 28-year-old landed on the sidelines in the summer of last year after being diagnosed with mononucleosis.

But since when does mono (a.k.a. the "kissing disease") keep you out of action for a year and a half?!

In all fairness to Soderling, injuries have also played a role in his lengthy absence.

Just this week, Soderling said if he does return to competitive tennis next year that it might be in the form of exhibition events for veterans??

"The final decision on my career has yet to peak," he said. "If I get back in 2013, then I do not know ... I guess I just stayed veteran circuit. Already would probably be too heavy to get back.

"I'm frustrated because I'm doing what I can. If you would have asked me before two-three weeks ago, I would have been really positive. Could I play basically every day, but then I catch cold. Sometimes I go full half an hour, the next day it's too much. Hard to deal with it. Impotency is upsetting. I also consulted with sports psychologists, situation is irritating, but not to drive you crazy. Gradually, I realized that I only accept state. Nothing is certain."

The English isn't perfect, but I think you get the point.

He's frustrated.

Robin Bo Carl Soderling reached as high as No. 4 in the world in November of 2010, thanks in part on reaching back-to-back French Open finals in 2009 and 2010, only to lose to two of the greatest tennis players of all-time, in Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, respectively. Soderling did, however, stun the top seed and defending champion in both of those events, as he shocked Nadal at Roland Garros in 2009 and Federer there in 2010. The big-hitting Swede became the first, and still only, player to beat Nadal at the French, where the mighty Spaniard is an amazing 52-1 all-time. And when Soderling vanquished Federer in Paris in 2010, it halted Federer's seemingly unstoppable Grand Slam semifinal streak at 23. Those results would have to qualify as two of the most-impressive wins in recent Grand Slam history, and the one against the clay-court Goliath that is Nadal was considered, at the time, the biggest upset in the history of major men's tennis.

Soderling landed in the U.S. Open quarterfinals in 2009 and 2010; a Wimbledon quarterfinal in '10; and was a semifinalist at the prestigious ATP World Tour Finals in 2009. I'd say he's pretty good.

The 28-year-old Tibro native posted back-to-back year-end Top-10 finishes in '09 and '10 and had been a mainstay in the Top 20 since 2008. But he's currently unranked due to his inactivity, or having not competed on the circuit for 12 months.

The 6-foot-4 slugger, who excels on indoor surfaces, has appeared in 20 career ATP finals, including 10 titles, with four of the championships coming last winter and spring, before he was mysteriously derailed. He tallied a whopping six titles in a one-year span from 2010-11, including a big win at the indoor Paris Masters event in 2010.

Note: Seven of his 10 career titles have come indoors. Can you say specialist?

In the interim, an idle Soderling became a father, as his wife, Jenni Mostrom, a model who reportedly played golf in college, gave birth to a baby girl, Olivia, just last month.

Soderling was never quite on track to join the Swedish pantheon of tennis greats -- Bjorn Borg, Mats Wilander and Stefan Edberg -- but, at the very least, he was on track to becoming a perennial Top-10er and, perhaps, a potential Grand Slam champ. Heck, even Thomas Johansson, who was not of the same caliber as Soderling, snuck out a Grand Slam win in Australia in 2002, the in-between period when the Pete Sampras' and Andre Agassis were preparing to relinquish their power to the Roger Federers and Rafael Nadals of the world.

And if Soderling doesn't make it back, he can still fall back on his more than $10 million in career prize money.

I honestly don't think he'll be back. I wish it wasn't true but I really can't see it happening I spoke to the tillstrom family in Brisbane a lot last week and they seemed to be of the same opinion. It's such a shame

I honestly don't think he'll be back. I wish it wasn't true but I really can't see it happening I spoke to the tillstrom family in Brisbane a lot last week and they seemed to be of the same opinion. It's such a shame

I don't buy that he won't come back. Robin has been saying all along he hopes for a 2013 return, so I'll continue to hope. He wouldn't give his fans false hope by saying that unless he was confident in a return.

And of course, we can forget about any tournaments with him in February-March, this is impossible.

ye he still aint fit for tournaments. he plays tennis once or twice a week. says that the mono is a pain in the ass since for other illness/injurys u most likley have a time limit when the doctor can tell u when u will be ready for training. also they talk about that robin has several times been on the edge of his fitness. he has trained so hard, maybe to hard too achive his sucess and its a real backlash that this illness came at that point of his career. also says he hasent watch so much tennis due to that he feel somewhat discomfort watching the others play and thinking "i should be there".

what intrests me is that Fidde rosengren left him as coach this fall and there were no coments on that issue. honestly, if he aint coming back until swedish open this summer in bastad i think he will throw in the towel and retire.

what intrests me is that Fidde rosengren left him as coach this fall and there were no coments on that issue. honestly, if he aint coming back until swedish open this summer in bastad i think he will throw in the towel and retire.

I honestly don't think that Robin needs a coach at this stage.
and I still think his last chance is Stockholm Open.

that was a good interview. Nice to see Enqvist around too. Robin looks alright but if he's still not able to train 100% for comeback after 16 months I think it's time to pull the plug soon.

2013 is the final year. If he can't make a comeback he should stop torturing himself and go for a civilian career. Ancic studied to lawyer when mono began to derail his tennis career. That's still what gives me most faith about Robin. He seems to put all focus on comeback and hasn't started another career. It might be stupid but it shows he's still deadly serious about a real comeback, but yeah like everyone else I'm doubting if he'd ever get healthy enough again.

Things the body can't heal in 16 months why would 20 or 25 months or even 30 months make any difference? Mono is a virus. It's never gonna be cured. If he can't play with the virus and if there is no medicine that can suppress the sympthoms (like chronic fatigue) I'm afraid it's game over.

Ancic had already done at least 2 comebacks by this time and Soderling hasn't even managed one. Sure we can say he's careful and all but it's nearing a time when it doesn't matter anymore. I think it's time to put it on the line. No middle ground doing 1-2 practices a week but to really go for it and if it doesn't hold then it doesn't hold. Waiting another 6 months, another 12 months? Where is that gonna get him? He needs to test his wings now and if they don't hold then it's time to hang up the racket.

I'm questioning what's gonna get better with time. Maybe he's been out from very hard physical training for so long that the body backfires on him because of that and not because of the mono.

Just thinking on myself after every winter doing the first long running pass I'm like I'm gonna puke and the day after you feel horrible too. For an elite athelete that's been out as long as Robin and where "training" means ELITE TRAINING then it's probably like that but times 10.

Question is if he's sure his fatigue is really mono-related or could it be that his body says no for other reasons? If so maybe he could work through it and hit a plateau when it starts to get better much faster instead of the very slow progress he has now. He will no doubt pay a terrible prize in pain and sweat but maybe it would actually work to "shock" the body into full recovery

What's left to lose? If he gets a new mono outbreak and has to be in bed again for months then he knows it's over and that he must aim for something else, like signing up for a university course or whatever. At least he gets an answer.

Now he's walking around praying that time will solve his problems. That only moves him and his body even further away from the hard training his body was once used to. If he means he already tried serious attempts and gotten so sick everytime he was back at square one then he should have already given up months ago.

Soderling is starting to remind me now of another famous Swedish athlete named Peter Forsberg that had a chronic footproblem but refused to give up his career. He saw so many experts in so many countries and literally tried everything and even the doctors were clueless eventually. Sometimes the stubborn players reaches a state where they only trick themselves but their love and passion for the sport is so big that they refuse to give up. Robin is not there yet but it's getting there